Restaurant reservations Part 4 (Advanced): Exploring options for private or semi-private dining for groups.

🇹🇼 不好意思 is the go-to light apology in Taiwan, much softer than 對不起. People use it to deliver bad news, get past someone, or get a server's attention.

💬 Adding 滿 after a verb shows it filled up completely: 訂滿 "booked full", 坐滿 "all seats taken".

🇹🇼 不好意思 is the softer, everyday apology Taiwanese staff use when giving bad news. It's lighter than 對不起 and also works as "excuse me".

💬 起來 after a verb can mean the action closes or gathers something: 隔起來 "partitioned off", 包起來 "wrapped up".

🇹🇼 Speeches by the boss or a senior guest are common at Taiwanese company dinners and banquets. This is a practical reason to ask for a private or quieter space.

💬 有人 at the start means "someone": 有人要致詞 "someone will give a speech". Use it to talk about an unnamed person: 有人在嗎 "is anyone here?".

💬 Here 我們中間 means "among us", not a physical middle. The English "in the middle" is misleading.

🇹🇼 合菜 (hé cài) is a fixed group menu of shared dishes priced per table, usually 8–12 dishes. It's the default way groups order at Taiwanese Chinese restaurants.

💬 每 goes before a counting word or noun to mean "each/per": 每人 "per person", 每天 "every day".

💬 低消 (dī xiāo) is a shortened form of 最低消費 "minimum spend". Chinese often clips long terms like this.

🇹🇼 Private rooms in Taiwan almost always come with a minimum spend, quoted in NT dollars. Asking about 低消 up front is normal and expected.

💬 Starting a request with 方便 (fāng biàn) asks "is it convenient for you to…". It's a gentle way to ask someone to do something.

💬 幫我 + verb means "do something for me": 幫我保留 "hold it for me", 幫我拿 "get it for me". 先 before it adds "for now".

🇹🇼 Asking 方便…嗎 "is it convenient to…" is a very common, gentle way to make requests in Taiwan, softer than a direct "can you".

💬 跟 + person + verb means doing it with that person: 跟老闆確認 "confirm with the boss". The person always comes before the action.

🇹🇼 Saying you need to check with colleagues is a normal, polite way to avoid committing on the spot. Taiwanese restaurant staff will usually offer to hold the room.

💬 Staff use 您 (nín), the polite form of 你, when speaking to customers.

💬 到 + time after a verb sets a deadline: 保留到星期三 "hold until Wednesday", 開到十點 "open until ten".

💬 Answer with 我姓… or the humble 敝姓…, never by repeating 貴. 貴 (guì) is only used for the other person's name.

💬 登記 (dēng jì) means writing your booking into their records. It's the usual word staff use for "noted down".

💬 Verb + 之後 means "after doing". The time word comes after the action, the reverse of English: 吃飯之後 "after eating".

💬 麻煩您 + action is a polite "would you kindly…": 麻煩您等一下 "please wait a moment".

🇹🇼 Taiwanese restaurants generally expect you to call back to confirm a held room. If you don't, they'll release it after the deadline.

💬 來電 (lái diàn) literally means "incoming call". It's a polite, written-sounding word you'll hear mainly from businesses.